Author Archives: vickieclarkebrown

So, I wasn’t feeling great this morning, kept awake by a storm overnight I knew that there would be nowhere dry to sit with the chickens. I dragged myself out of bed, downstairs, out and across to the chickens. As expected everything was drenched. The girls however, were screeching to be freed from their (franklyContinue reading “Making the Best of Everything”

We’re well into September now, Autumn is just round the corner and a chill is most definitely in the air. I was fully prepped for this morning, extra jumper, down-filled jacket and fleece lined boots. The chickens have their own version of preparing for the colder weather, and it’s very simple. They change the orientationContinue reading “Just Fluff up Those Feathers!”

The days are drawing in now, the chicken coop door is set to open at 6.30am, and I like to be there fairly soon after to let the girls out of their run. But it was actually still fairly dark at 6.35 when I came out this morning (full cloud cover over Yorkshire isn’t helpingContinue reading “Take your time, rest if you need to.”

Anyone who has animals will know that it’s rarely all plain sailing. This morning it was little Gloria who was down in the dumps. Unlike the hounds (who are, quite frankly, little drama queens), chickens will go out of their way to mask illness to avoid being rejected by the flock. So once an illnessContinue reading “A Friend in Need”

When we first got the girls and a pretty little wooden coop I’d never heard of red mite. After joining some online forums they became my biggest fear. Nasty little vampiric mites that live in the crevasses of wooden coops and hop on the chickens whilst they are roosting at night, slowly draining their lifeContinue reading “Tackle those issues head on!”

This morning little Sweetpea was loudly announcing her imminent laying with an egg song. Saturday is our full housekeeping day, and due to a little human lay-in I was still cleaning out the coop, so she couldn’t get to her usual nest box, which was clearly somewhat of a frustration from the squawking being produced.Continue reading “A Different Perspective”

This morning was a bit traumatic in our little corner of the world. Princess Layer, who is usually fairly chilled, attacked both Sweetpea and Queenie within minutes of them all being let out of the run. Chasing them around to peck at them quite viciously. This is very unusual behaviour for Princess Layer, she’s usuallyContinue reading “It’s not always about you……”

This morning is a beautiful day in our corner of Yorkshire, the sun is shining and the sky is a beautiful rich blue. It’s the end of summer, but today it’s hanging on in there. The girls were out early as usual, scratching around looking for worms whilst I drank my tea and read aContinue reading “Adventuring with Friends”

This morning was beautiful here in Yorkshire, the sun rose into a clear blue sky. The girls (as usual) couldn’t wait to get out of their run. Henrietta led the charge, and very quickly they were all happily either digging for worms or demanding layer pellets. Then the world went quiet, all the wild birdsContinue reading “Listen to your Intuition”

“Pecking order” is a term derived from chicken behaviour, it’s how they sort out their relative positions in the flock. The subtleties are fascinating. Henrietta, with her wonky beak and pronounced limp, is top hen. She is completely secure in her ranking, leads the flock out in a morning and back at bedtime, and keepsContinue reading “Self-confidence is a quiet strength”